A conventional re-transmission control method will be explained. Examples of error control include error correction coding (FEC: forward error correction) and automatic re-transmission request (ARQ: Automatic Repeat reQuest). Since it is necessary to secure error-free transmission, ARQ-based error correction is essential to packet transmission. Particularly in a system intended to improve throughput by selecting an optimum modulation scheme and an optimum coding scheme according to a state of a propagation path (adaptive modulation-demodulation and error correction), packet error is unavoidable. The system of this type, therefore, needs an HARQ scheme including an FEC function.
As the HARQ scheme, a Type-I HARQ for re-transmitting an identical packet to an original packet and a Type-II HARQ for re-transmitting a different packet from an original packet are known.
One example of the Type-II HARQ will be explained. The Type-II HARQ scheme is basically to transmit information bits during an initial transmission and to transmit parity bits for error correction during a re-transmission. By way of example, an instance of applying the Type-II HARQ scheme to a system using turbo codes will be explained (see Non-Patent Literature 1). In the system using turbo codes, a transmitter-side communication device encodes an information signal sequence at a coding rate R, thins out coded redundant bits (parity bits) based on a predetermined erasing rule, and transmits the resultant packet. During re-transmission, the communication device transmits a packet different from the initially transmitted packet and configured only by an additional parity. A receiver-side communication device codes/combines the initially-transmitted received packet stored in a reception buffer with the re-transmitted packet, and decodes the coded/combined packet at a lower coding rate according to the number of times of re-transmission.
With the Type-II HARQ scheme, these processings are repeatedly executed until no error is detected, thereby realizing error-free transmission and improving coding gain and, therefore, reception characteristic.
Turbo Coded Hybrid Type II ARQ System” Master's thesis, Chalmers University of Technology, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2002”.
However, the re-transmission control method using turbo codes has the following drawbacks. If the number of bits to be erased becomes larger, a departure from the Shannon limit becomes greater and deterioration of characteristic is greater. In addition, with this re-transmission control method using the turbo codes, even if the additional parity is transmitted during the re-transmission, it is unclear whether the selected parity is optimal parity. As a result, there is a probability that an original performance of turbo codes cannot be attained.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the conventional disadvantages. It is an object of the present invention to provide a re-transmission control method and a communication device capable of ensuring a stable characteristic even if the number of erased bits is large while a Type-II HARQ scheme is used, and capable of constantly attaining an original performance of error-correcting codes.